Pemiscot Land & Cooperage business records are part of the Hayes Family Papers. The original owners, Jacob Weirman and John Worst, eventually took in Samuel Brinkerhoff as a partner. After Brinkerhoff's death in 1906, his shared devolved to his widow, Mary Miller Brinkerhoff. Hayes. After her marriage to Webb C. Hayes in 1912, the company became a Hayes family concern for the next forty years. Upon Weirman's death, in 1900, John M. Sherman became a partner. His partnership continued with the company until his death in 1931. At that time, Webb C. Hayes II replaced Sherman as president.

In the early 1890's, Jacob Weirman and John Worst set up a partnership in undeveloped Pemiscot County, Missouri to produce barrel staves from timber cut from land they either owned or leased for that purpose. After clearing the timber, the company rented the land to local farmers for crop land. Weirman and Worst offered Samuel Brinkerhoff, of Fremont, Ohio, shares in the company to acquire more capital and management ability. The partners also owned Omo Manufacturing Company, a barrel heading manufacturer, and the Maorak Land and Timber Company, a sawmill business, the Pemiscot Ginning & Mercantile Company, a cotton ginning business, and Pemiscot Abstract & Investment Company, a business that provided land title and abstract services. The partners chartered and constructed the St. Louis, Caruthersville & Memphis Railroad, decreasing the cost of shipping and providing the company with reliable rail service. The short line was sold in 1902 to the St. Louis, Memphis, & Southeastern Railroad. John Sherman of Fremont, Ohio gained an interest in the company in 1900 at the death of Jacob Weirman. The partnership became Worst, Sherman, & Brinkerhoff. The early 1900's was a time of rapid change within the company. In 1902, the partnership purchased Moark Land & Timber, and, in 1903, it entered into a marketing agreement with Ozark Cooperage Company. Ozark handled all sales on commission. The focus of the business expanded in 1904 to include renting land to tenant farmers or selling land if a profit could be realized. The partnership incorporated in 1905 as an Ohio company doing business in Missouri. From that time, the company became known as Pemiscot Land & Cooperage. Brinkerhoff, who died in 1906, was succeeded by John Worst as president. Brinkerhoff's share passed to his widow, Mary Miller Brinkerhoff. The company installed a drying kiln that failed to function adequately, beginning a lawsuit against Houk that remained unresolved for more than ten years. The uninsured Omo plant burned in 1908. After deciding not to rebuild, the owners placed the land and machinery up for sale. In 1911, Pemiscot ended its dealings with Ozark Cooperage. Mary Brinkerhoff married Webb C. Hayes the following year. By 1915, the timber operations had been curtailed and the emphasis was placed on crops: corn, cotton, and alfalfa. In 1920, Worst died, leaving his son, L. C. Worst, a stockholder. John Sherman took over the presidency. When Mary Miller Hayes turned over her shares in the company to the Union Trust of Cleveland as part of her numerous trusts, J. C. Armstrong of Union Trust, became a vice-president. In 1931, John Sherman died and was replaced by Webb C. Hayes II as president. By this time, the cotton gin had become the primary concern of the corporation. During the Depression, the cotton market became severely depressed. Government loans served as the main source of financing the tenants. Many land contract sales were canceled with the land reverting to Pemiscot. A new company, Pemiscot Ginning & Mercantile Company was established in 1935. This wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pemiscot Land & Cooperage Company began operations in the fall of 1935. An alfalfa mill was considered in 1937, rejected, considered again in 1941, and again rejected. In 1946, the directors voted to explore liquidation of the company. Carl Bloker, company secretary and general manager, began selling land in 1947. Most sold quickly. The cotton gin and the remaining land sold in 1948. The company was officially dissolved in 1951.

The largest record group, comprising approximately one third of the collection, is the business correspondence of Brinkerhoff, Bloker, and other principals of the company from 1894 to 1951. The bulk of the collection dates primarily from 1894 to 1906, the years representing Brinkerhoff's involvement in Pemiscot, and from 1931 to 1948, those years when Webb C. Hayes II became president of the corporation. Stock records, minutes of stockholder and directors' meetings; deeds, leases, and other land records; financial records, including reports, monthly and annual statements, production records, cost estimates, payroll records, canceled checks, cash books; and sales material comprised of invoices, vouchers, including prices and estimations of barrel staves, and contracts for timber, staves, and land. Of particular interest are those documents, financial records, and correspondence concerning the organization and construction of the St. Louis, Caruthersville, and Memphis Railroad. The collection also contains legal documents and correspondence concerning the Houk lawsuit. There is also extensive material related to the agricultural operations of the company, including sales agreements, leases, and production and price records of the cotton gin.